Thirty-five African migrants drown off Yemen coast

Sana’a (Yemen), April 23 (DPA) At least 35 African migrants drowned after a rickety boat carrying 110 people capsized off Yemen’s southeast coast Thursday, police said. Police officials told the DPA that 35 bodies, including of five women, washed up on the shore of Rada, some 660 km east of the southern port city of Aden.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 62 managed to swim to shore, and were taken to a medical centre run by the Spanish relief organisation Doctors Without Borders, in the nearby Ahwar town.

They said the accident took place early in the day as the overcrowded boat capsized in strong winds as it approached the shore.

They added the passengers were Somalis and Ethiopians, but they were not able to provide a breakdown of the victims’ nationalities.